. Field, forest and farm; things interesting to young nature-lovers, including some matters of moment to gardeners and fruit-growers. Natural history; Agriculture. THE STAFF OF LIFE 9 salt. Half the entire world has practically the same diet. "The plant that produces rice has a stalk resem- bling that of wheat, but instead of ending in an up- right ear it bears a cluster of feeble and pendent branches, all loaded with seeds. The leaves are narrow and rib- bon-shaped, rough to the touch. This plant is aquatic. In order to flourish, it must send down its roots into the sub- merged mud and s
. Field, forest and farm; things interesting to young nature-lovers, including some matters of moment to gardeners and fruit-growers. Natural history; Agriculture. THE STAFF OF LIFE 9 salt. Half the entire world has practically the same diet. "The plant that produces rice has a stalk resem- bling that of wheat, but instead of ending in an up- right ear it bears a cluster of feeble and pendent branches, all loaded with seeds. The leaves are narrow and rib- bon-shaped, rough to the touch. This plant is aquatic. In order to flourish, it must send down its roots into the sub- merged mud and spread its foliage, ex- cepting the tip, in the flood. Marshy shallows, inundated a part of the year, are adapted to its cultivation.'' "But what do they do where there are no such marshes ?'' asked Louis. "When such marshes are lacking, the Eice ingenious Chinaman floods the lowlands with water from some near-by stream until the ground is all soft and muddy. He then draws off the water through a series of little canals, and works the mud with a light plow drawn by a buffalo, a kind of ox with a long beard hanging from its chin and a mane waving on its back. '' The seed once sown in the furrows and the young plants started, the water from the stream is again made to flood the fields, where it remains until har- vest time. Then for the second time it is drawn off, and the reaper, sickle in hand and with the black mud up to his knees, cuts down the rice-laden tops of the Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original Fabre, Jean-Henri, 1823-1915; Bicknell, Florence Constable, tr. New York, The Century Co.
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, booksubjectagriculture, booksubjectnaturalhisto
